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• I enjoyed the TV adaptation of The Sandman comics enough that I figured I ought to go check out the original - I never had much exposure to comics in general as a youngster, so they'd passed me by until now, though I've been vaguely aware of them as gothic and well-regarded. Some elements have aged clumsily, but I was overall very tickled to find the series is exactly as queer as the show suggested, and the tale/s it spun were a fantastical journey complemented by a succession of stunning art. It took me a little while to come to grips with the ending, but I think I've landed on the side of it being a fitting conclusion for the characters and themes even if it's not entirely the ending I'd most like. Very curious as to whether the TV series will remain faithful; of course, that relies on it winning enough seasons to reach the end point, which [waves hand at Netflix] good luck and all.

• I honestly wasn't expecting Parable of the Sower to be such a straight-forward 'journey across a dystopian landscape' novel. What elevates it in this crowded genre is Butler's unshrinking commentary on class and race, the philosophical discussions around human nature and the proposition of Earthseed as a new spiritual driver, and her disturbing prescience. It is a very unsettling feeling to crack open a 90s novel on civil unrest tied to deep economic depression, callous corporate interests, and the pressures of climate change, and immediately get hit in the face with "2024". The sequel apparently features a tyrannical president spouting 'Make America Great Again' as a slogan, for heaven's sake. I don't know what she did to become Apollo's favourite, but I guess I'm glad her timeline was off by at least a decade or two.

• My parents showed me the first two episodes of Taskmaster AUS while I was visiting, and between those and rionaleonhart's enthusiastic recommendations from a while back, I started watching Taskmaster UK from the beginning once I returned home. Really fun! I love Greg Davies in general, the humour ranges from slapstick to absolutely wicked, and I appreciate that it doesn't really encourage binge-watching in me. I've made it through the first two seasons so far (enjoyed the first, howled with laughter throughout the second), and while I'm taking a bit of a break for now I fully expect to get through the remaining ten seasons eventually. Good dinner entertainment.

• I never read the Nimona webcomic, so I could only judge the movie adaptation on its own merits: cute if fairly standard animation, topical but weirdly shallow messaging, and the emotional pacing of an epileptic grasshopper. Not a big winner for me, but hopefully kids have a good time.

• Known mountain-lover killyhawk recommended The Summit of the Gods to me, a known animation-lover, and boy this film definitely ticks both those boxes. A French adaptation of a Japanese manga, the film follows a young photojournalist's fascination with the story of Habu Joji, a talented climber dogged by tragedy, and their inevitable path to Everest. The movie managed to unflinchingly depict the brutal hardships of extreme mountaineering that have always made this hobby seem insane to me, while still pushing a sympathetic (and I would argue a little overly romantic) view of the people who pursue it - I kept flashing back to passages from MacFarlane's 'Mountains of the Mind' throughout. The animation was incredible, though, and it also had an unexpectedly lovely soundtrack! Double thumbs up to this rec.

• I went into The Favourite thinking it was a comedy and I don't know where I got that impression because it is uh. Not what I would call a comedy. Stunning acting across the board, though, and another fantastic entry into the genre of "man, monarchies aren't even fun for the monarchs".

• Had a stupid amount of fun rewatching first The Chronicles of Riddick and then Pitch Black, remnants of my teenaged tastes. The only downside is my long-standing regret I don't live in the timeline where the high space fantasy nonsense of Chronicles was its own movie series, and the sequel to Pitch Black was instead a more character-focused story in which the Imam hires Riddick to break Jack out of Crematoria and there is literally any sensible continuity to the character histories and general worldbuilding at all. Chronicles says "Carolyn Fry whomst? Time for another one-sided battle in which Vin Diesel I mean Riddick is Flawlessly Cool" and like, babe, love that for you in general, but why are you doing PB so dirty.